RFID is a method of remotely storing and receiving data using devices called RFID tags. RFID tags can be small adhesive stickers containing antennas that receive and respond to transmissions from RFID transmitters. RFID tags are used to identify and track everything from Exxon EZ pass to dogs to beer kegs to library books.

Major companies and countries around the world are adopting or considering whether to adopt RFID technologies. Visa and Wells Fargo are currently running tests with RFID, airports around the world are using RFID to track cargo and run customs departments, universities such as Slippery Rock are providing RFID-enabled cell phones for students to use for campus charges. According to the July 9 CNET article, RFID Tags: Big Brother in Small Packages?, "You should become familiar with RFID technology because you'll be hearing much more about it soon. Retailers adore the concept, and CNET News.com's own Alorie Gilbert wrote last week about how Wal-Mart and the U.K.-based grocery chain Tesco are starting to install "smart shelves" with networked RFID readers. In what will become the largest test of the technology, consumer goods giant Gillette recently said it would purchase 500 million RFID tags from Alien Technology of Morgan Hill, CA."

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